5.23.2006

Last week I received in the mail a package of Exquisite Corpses from Colchester VT. There was no name on the package, but I suspect a certain Signor Vanni Plurtipus, of Milan, Italy, or some of his minions. Especially suspected is a group of northern Vermont troublemakers who work under the moniker "Whipperdaughter".

5.16.2006

As I mentioned last week, I made a lightning trip up north to Reston Va (a suburb of Washington DC) to see J.T. Kirkland's show at GRACE.

I was interested in seeing the space becasue I'll be showing there this fall - it's nice, with a lot of small wall areas and movable walls. It feels like the area of Reston it's in - as if it's at its beginning and brand new, with some kinks to still work out. Reston is a planned community and the area GRACE is in in the "Town Center" with high-rises going up all around it. I liked it a lot - it has the sort of fake, unreal feeling of a new suburb.

Kirkland's show is really good - a strong showing in a much more appropriate environment than his solo show last year. On the white walls here his drilled wood pieces can really be seen - the patterns of holes, the shape of the cuts and mostly the wood itself. They are playfully minimalist, being nothing but themselves but still alive and fun and energetic on the wall. His patterns go biomorphic and geometric, but the show-stealers are the 3D pieces - stacks of wood that seems to defy gravity and hang together, all held together visually by a carefully drilled hole pattern.

Kirkland also gave a short artist's talk, which gave some perspective to the work - his family relationship to woodworking and how he went from the paintings he was making a few years ago to this stripped down body of work. Stripped down to wood and holes (not-wood, air), but filled up as well. The obviously careful decisions of wood choice, composition and craftmanship make these anything but casual, but the simple description of them - drilled wood - seems so basic. Pieces like these have to work to convince the viewer ("I could do that!") and Kirklands do.

I won't be posting any other pictures of the work as Kirkland is putting images online, on a day, from the show, so you can see them on his blog. I will post a couple more times about the show over this month and I encourage anyone in the area to go - especially those DC hipsters who might glance at this blog. GO!

5.08.2006

5.05.2006

On his blog last month Paul Goode showed a series of 40 drawings, one done and posted every day. I followed along, seeing the series come to life and really enjoyed it.

Yesterday he posted some context for the series, including how during it there was a horrible car crash and his niece was badly injured. He tells the story alongside the drawings in the post and he talks honestly about how the drawings got all mixed up in what he and his family were going through:

Sometimes, the drawings would be about building up health and protection.

Other times, maybe I was scrambling around to operate, fix and arrange things, to correct synapses, to mend nerves, and drain fluid.

It's a harrowing and great tale, especially if one followed the series and it's seeming lightheartedness when originally posted.

What I find really fascinating is how he used drawing as some kind of talisman or magic and got it all mixed up with his life. I've done this too at problem times. Last year when our cat was slowly dying I started drawing her over and over and over, putting her in a fort or behind a fence with me outside, sword drawn, ready to defend her – but I was covered in a sheet so I couldn't see and was useless.

I don't know why I did all those drawings - I knew they weren't doing anything to help her, but I guess they were helping me. I had read some commentary about Shakespeare and the writer posited that a certain character was inspired by Shakespeare's son, and that by saving the character, Shakespeare was somehow saving his son. Faulkner did something similar with Caddy in "The Sound and The Fury", and Guston's life is all over his late paintings.

Art as a way of finding some control over things. When Cassie finally did die I drew this and this.

5.03.2006

Following on from last years success, 'Take me I'm yours', you are invited to take part in an exhibition, Post It, to be held at the Atkinson Art Gallery in Southport UK from August 2nd – September 2nd 2006.

The exhibition will include work by artists and designers from all over the world and we would like you to take part too.

Here's what you need to do:

Attached is a list of art works owned by the Atkinson Gallery. You need to pick one and make your own version of it. Just take the title and make a piece of work based on it; you don't need to know what the original looks like.

Here's the catch. You have to work on A5 size! So, the work has to be 148mm x 210mm.

You are allowed to work in any media, be it photography, print, paint, pencil, felt tip, collage, whatever. The work you make will be hung on the wall by a fold back clip.

These will only hold a certain amount of weight, so bear that in mind. Other options might be available for certain circumstances. Please contact me if you need to discuss these. If you are working with paint or any other wet media you should try and keep the work flat rather than let it wrinkle.

You are allowed to submit as many pieces of work as you like. They can all be based on one title or they might all be different. You are guaranteed to have at least one of your submissions in the exhibition.

The room we have for the exhibition is 45 x 25 feet, or 13.8 x 7.3 metres. And is room number 2 if you are able to visit.

The following MUST be on the back of EVERY entry:? YOUR NAME? YOUR COUNTRY? YOUR PLACE OF EDUCATION [IF IN EDUCATION]? YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS [NOT COMPULSORY, BUT WILL HELP] ? YOUR CHOSEN TITLE. [THE ONE FROM THE LIST]

There will be an online catalogue of the exhibition in which your work will appear, www.postitpostit.com [available from mid May]. The details above will appear online, unless you say otherwise on the back of your work.

There will hopefully, but not definitely be a real catalogue, [a book] published at a later date. By entering you are agreeing to your work being reproduced in black and white in the book, should it be published, and also in colour on the website.

As much as I would love to keep all the work entered I understand most of you will want your work back. If you do want it back please send a stamped, addressed, protective envelope along with your submission.

After the exhibition I will try my best to have it shown somewhere else, this like the book is not a certainty but I will try.

The exhibition preview is August 1st 2006 7.30pm – 9pm.

THE IMPORTANT STUFF CHECKLIST:

YOUR WORK [as many pieces as you like] WITH: YOUR NAME; YOUR COUNTRY; YOUR PLACE OF EDUCATION [IF IN EDUCATION]; YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS [NOT COMPULSORY, BUT WILL HELP]; YOUR CHOSEN TITLE [THE ONE FROM THE LIST].

5.01.2006

Put on your math caps: Let X equal a play self-consciously taking itself apart before an audience as it continually redefines its terms of reality. Say that the play is about a playwright writing a play about a playwright, and the playwrights aggressively jockey for stewardship of the play as they...

So there's no excuse - if you're near DC go see the play:

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 9 pm. Opening night is April 27, and the show runs till May 7 -- that's only 8 performances, so I strongly suggest you get your tickets sooner rather than later. Admission is $10 at the door, and you can reserve seats by emailing info@taffetypunk.com or calling (202) 261-6612. The Mead Theatre Lab is at 916 G Street NW.

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Rina Ayuyang (of creativeskin.net) sent me a great minicomic of hers Namby Pamby. I don't see where to order it on her site, but email her if you want it - and you do. It's really nice, with a great silkscreened cover.